Yesterday I traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Palm Sunday. The whole day felt like a dream. I entered St. George's Anglican Church near the old city on Nablus Road shortly after 10:30. I was ushered in with at least 20 brightly dressed people from Ghana, here on a pilgrimage. The service was held in both English and Arabic.
After the service and some coffee, I went with Bill Broughton, my dad's friend, to his house, with another one of his frinds. We shared a delicious meal of beans, stuffed zucchini, salad, lemon merignue (sp?) pie, and coffee. Bill then dropped me off near Gethsemane, and my adventures began.
I hiked up the route, along with several other people, near the top of the Mt. of Olives, passing gravesites of Jewish and Christian people, finally reaching a place which commanded a magnificent view of the city, and from where I could see the procession coming down the hill (below is a picture of near where I sat, taken from the web). Several groups started the procession. The first were some Palestinian scout groups. A guy I'd met at Birzeit University was helping to lead one of them. Then there were groups of pilgrims from different parts of the world - India, El Salvador, Spain, and Poland, interspersed among other pilgrims.
I finally recognized someone - Tony, one of the Christian students from the university who's from Bethlehem. He was there with two other guys I knew - Samer and Firas. The day before they had been granted 40 day permits by the Israeli government to enter Jerusalem. We walked the rest of the procession into the courtyard of St. Anne's church in the Old City (where the Bethseda Pools are located). The atmosphere was highly festive, as people carried palm branches and Arabic praise music filled the air. Then the Catholic patriarch gave a message praying for all sides of the present conflict in the region.
Once that ended, we watched 3 different scout troops from Palestine perform in the streets surrounding the Old City, with drums, marching, and bagpipes. Samer told me the importance of groups like these, as they became like second homes for the children - teaching them discipline and giving them a second family. The finale was at the New Gate of the Old City, where the procession of the scout troop enters with cheers from the crowds.
Though I had come alone to the city to celebrate, I left feeling like I had truly shared fellowship with friends and participated in something truly special. To visualize what Christ saw as He entered the city is a scene I will surely not forget: "When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, 'Who is this?' (Matthew 21:10).
After the service and some coffee, I went with Bill Broughton, my dad's friend, to his house, with another one of his frinds. We shared a delicious meal of beans, stuffed zucchini, salad, lemon merignue (sp?) pie, and coffee. Bill then dropped me off near Gethsemane, and my adventures began.
I hiked up the route, along with several other people, near the top of the Mt. of Olives, passing gravesites of Jewish and Christian people, finally reaching a place which commanded a magnificent view of the city, and from where I could see the procession coming down the hill (below is a picture of near where I sat, taken from the web). Several groups started the procession. The first were some Palestinian scout groups. A guy I'd met at Birzeit University was helping to lead one of them. Then there were groups of pilgrims from different parts of the world - India, El Salvador, Spain, and Poland, interspersed among other pilgrims.
I finally recognized someone - Tony, one of the Christian students from the university who's from Bethlehem. He was there with two other guys I knew - Samer and Firas. The day before they had been granted 40 day permits by the Israeli government to enter Jerusalem. We walked the rest of the procession into the courtyard of St. Anne's church in the Old City (where the Bethseda Pools are located). The atmosphere was highly festive, as people carried palm branches and Arabic praise music filled the air. Then the Catholic patriarch gave a message praying for all sides of the present conflict in the region.
Once that ended, we watched 3 different scout troops from Palestine perform in the streets surrounding the Old City, with drums, marching, and bagpipes. Samer told me the importance of groups like these, as they became like second homes for the children - teaching them discipline and giving them a second family. The finale was at the New Gate of the Old City, where the procession of the scout troop enters with cheers from the crowds.
Though I had come alone to the city to celebrate, I left feeling like I had truly shared fellowship with friends and participated in something truly special. To visualize what Christ saw as He entered the city is a scene I will surely not forget: "When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, 'Who is this?' (Matthew 21:10).
1 comment:
You're so lucky who can celebrate easter in Jerusalem. I wish i could be there. You have to hi to the pastor i the anglican church for us. Enjoy the coming days. We pray for you in my prayergroup. God bless you.
hugs Mary
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